Importing Timing Marks from LOR

Dedicated elf

I've just started using Xlights/Nutcracker, so apologies if this has been asked before. I did do a search and I have watched some of the tutorial videos but I can't seem to work out what I'm doing wrong.

I have a 2D 90 Tree that I have setup in LOR and Xlights. I can copy to clipboard from nutcracker and put it in LOR and it all seems to control the right number of channels etc so I think I have that part worked out (wouldn't say under control but I can seem to do it).

My trouble is getting the timing marks to be the same in both. On the video I watched this morning Sean imported timing marks from Audacity and they showed up immediately on the start time/display element grid. When I import the LOR sequence into nutcracker it says a new grid is created but nothing shows up under the timings column.

Do I need to do something different in LOR or Nutcracker to get this to work. I am using version 3.4.5 of xlights and the latest version of LOR S3.

I've got to say, what the xlights program can achieve is amazing. I can only imagine the hours Sean et al have put into it. I haven't really even used it yet but already I owe you all a debt of gratitude. Thank You.

Dedicated elf

I've just started using Xlights/Nutcracker, so apologies if this has been asked before. I did do a search and I have watched some of the tutorial videos but I can't seem to work out what I'm doing wrong.

I have a 2D 90 Tree that I have setup in LOR and Xlights. I can copy to clipboard from nutcracker and put it in LOR and it all seems to control the right number of channels etc so I think I have that part worked out (wouldn't say under control but I can seem to do it).

My trouble is getting the timing marks to be the same in both. On the video I watched this morning Sean imported timing marks from Audacity and they showed up immediately on the start time/display element grid. When I import the LOR sequence into nutcracker it says a new grid is created but nothing shows up under the timings column.

Do I need to do something different in LOR or Nutcracker to get this to work. I am using version 3.4.5 of xlights and the latest version of LOR S3.

I've got to say, what the xlights program can achieve is amazing. I can only imagine the hours Sean et al have put into it. I haven't really even used it yet but already I owe you all a debt of gratitude. Thank You.

do not bring your lor lms file into xlights using the CONVERT tab, instead go to the NUTCRACKER tab and choose the second option on the file open menu "LOR Sequence". If you open a LOR file directly into NUTCRACKER tab it wilol also bring in timing marks from LOR.

Dedicated elf

Thanks Sean. That is what I did (Nutcracker tab - open file). It loads it in then asks me which models to turn on. I selected my 2d tree and then it says a grid has been generated but nothing shows up. Maybe it is in there but nothing shows in the time column.

Maybe I am not doing the timing marks right in LOR. I used the beat wizard to generate them and then I used a timing rate of 2x what the beat wizard said.

Dedicated elf

Just been thinking about this more. I must have timing marks in LOR as I have the vertical lines and when I have imported from the clipboard the model does come in fine it's just the timing is all wrong due to the difference in the timing marks used to create it and the timing marks in LOR.

Dedicated elf

An update on what I've found. I uploaded the plugin for audacity. I can now bring the audio file and the timing text file into nutcracker and this shows me the grid with a series of timing markers.

I am trying to bring in a picture file to scroll across my 2d 90 tree between to time markers so that the picture fits in with some of the words. So I worked out the time markers that I needed to be between then deleted all rows between markers so I had a start time and finish time. Put the effect in and exported the clipboard. Imported this into LOR and it came in but in the wrong place. The timing grid on LOR was 512 bpm (so 0.11 or so seconds). The effect came in at around the 1:00 minute mark when it should have (or I was hoping to have it) turned up at around 0:26.

I figured this was because nutcracker was using 0.05 second timing and LOR had 0.11 second timing. I then changed my LOR timing grid to 0.05 second fixed grid, rounded the timing in nutcracker to nearest 0.05 seconds and did it all again and it worked fine.

I figure I am doing something wrong as I haven't seen anywhere that it is compulsory to have 0.05 second timing grid in LOR. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

I realise I could have forced the same grid on xlights as I have on LOR and put the effect in over the required time markers. My problem there was how do I put the effect in multiple grid points so that it continues over each one to then. I admit I didn't try this as I was concerned it would restart the picture with each new grid marker. It probably doesn't. I will try that now to check.

On a side note when I put the audacity time grid in nutcracker I had to listen to it to determine when the words I wanted started. First time through it appeared they started at say time marker 0:26.45. I then moved the cursor to a grid position 10 lines or so above this and pressed play again to double check as it all happens reasonably fast. This time the words come in at say 0:29.5. I then repositioned the cursor in grid line 1 and pressed play. Words were at 0:26.45 again. Then if I move the cursor up and start at anywhere except line 1 the words come in at time 0:29.5. Seemed odd to me and I would really like to know why that is or if it just something else I did wrong.

Still can't work out why I can't get the timing grid from LOR file but I can from audacity. I have tried a couple of LOR files and none seem to come in for me.

Hopefully I have put enough info here to describe what I did/didn't do. If you've read this far thanks for helping and sorry for being a pain.

Dedicated elf

Have now played around with the effect a bit more. I now realise I don't need to have an effect listed on every time marker. An effect will continue until it hits a new effect telling it to do something else.

Does xlights always export clipboards based on 0.05 time steps or does it export based on the grid timings. I realise the greater the timestep the less clear your picture becomes moving across the matrix.

Dedicated elf

Have now played around with the effect a bit more. I now realise I don't need to have an effect listed on every time marker. An effect will continue until it hits a new effect telling it to do something else.

Does xlights always export clipboards based on 0.05 time steps or does it export based on the grid timings. I realise the greater the timestep the less clear your picture becomes moving across the matrix.

LOR files do not need to be changed to 0.05, we will convert the timing to the nearest 0.05 when we import your lms. you can change it if you want, not needed

any files we create will always be at 0.050 frame timing. this has been stated dozens of times in every tutorial.

I will state it again
if you import any file into xlights we will change your timing to fix , 50ms frames.
the falcon pi player ONLY works on 50ms frame timing.
the DLA conductor ONLY works on 50ms frame timing

if you bring in a lms file , add rfb effects and then export the file as lms or lcb. the new output file will be 50ms frame timing fixed.

fixed timing is what allows the xlights/fpp players to run 64K channels with no lag.

We are thinking of offering a 25ms frame timing option this year. this will allow you to choose 20fps or 40fps fixed frames.

Dedicated elf

Thanks Sean. I apologise for going over ground you have obviously covered many times before. It's just new to me and I'm trying to come to terms with it all.

I mucked around with my sequence in LOR last night and copy and pasted my effect from nutcracker in several places. I then thought I would bring the sequence into nutcracker again to see what timings I get in the grid. All the timing markers where there was an effect present turned up.

From this I gather that nutcracker brings in all the active time grids, not every single time marker. I was thinking it would show every single time marker so I could find a time marker on the grid table and put an effect against it. Thanks again for all your help, it is helping me a lot and I do appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.